Marsbox payload in Earth’s middle stratosphere. The hatch is open to expose the top layer samples to UV radiation.
NASA
This story is part of Welcome to Mars, our series exploring the red planet.
Scientists say that some microbes from Earth may survive on Mars, at least temporarily, which could cause new problems and possibilities for future exploration of the red planet.
Researchers from NASA and the German Air Service Center (DLR) have sent certain microbes to the Earth’s stratosphere, where the conditions are strikingly similar to those on the surface of Mars.
“Some microbes, especially spores of the black mold, could survive the journey even when exposed to very high (ultraviolet) radiation,” Marta Filipa Cortesão of DLR explained in a statement.
Look at this:
Watch NASA’s video for throughput landing (and hear the …
5:34
Cortesão is one of the lead authors of a new study published Monday in Frontiers in Microbiology.
It seems like we can really never get rid of that annoying black shape. It can even follow humans to another planet, which the researchers are concerned about.
“With long-term missions to Mars, we need to know how micro-organisms associated with humans would survive on the red planet, as some could pose a health risk to astronauts,” said co-author of the study, Katharina Siems of DLR. “In addition, some microbes can be invaluable for space exploration. It can help us produce food and material supplies independently of the earth, which is crucial when we are far from home.”
It is also important to know what an interplanetary journey can survive if we search for life on Mars, to avoid a false positive discovery of Mars shape that was really a getaway on one of our spacecraft.
Quartz disc with dried Aspergillus niger spores. This is a difficult form.
German Aviation Center (DLR)
For the study, the team sent the microbes to the stratosphere in a specially designed container called Marsbox (Microbes in Atmosphere for Radiation, Survival and Biological Outcomes experiment) that simulated the pressure and composition of the Mars atmosphere. The box contains a layer that is shielded from radiation, and one that is not shielded.
“This enabled us to separate the effects of radiation from the other conditions tested: dehydration, atmosphere and temperature fluctuations during the flight,” explains Cortesão. “The samples from the top layer are exposed to more than a thousand times more UV radiation than levels that can cause sunburn on our skin.”
Finally, the study suggests that of the many challenges associated with exploring Mars, we need to add at least one other known problem: that stubborn form that you can apparently never get rid of.
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